My trip to the Philippines
Feb. 23rd, 2020 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mtbcI now get around to reporting a little about my vacation. It should be emphasized that, while I do not focus on that aspect here, I was accompanied by an invaluable local guide who had originally invited me to visit.
This was my first trip to Asia and to a developing country, albeit a newly industrialized one. Accommodation was in various AirBnb's. Manila seems dominated by high-rise condominiums. My stays started and ended in Metro Manila, partly to be near the airport: first in Manila City, up on the 33rd floor with a view of the US Embassy and Manila Bay; last in Taguig City, up on the 22nd floor and near the British Embassy which is tucked behind the Korean one. Of course, the high-rises elide some floor numbers for reasons of bad luck. In between those stays I passed through Batangas and stayed on Oriental Mindoro near a beach looking out onto the Verde Island Passage, probably my favorite part of the trip.
I was flown on Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER's on an itinerary with an agreeable midpoint layover in Dubai. On those flights my favorite meal by far was the chicken shahjahani and I also enjoyed the mughlai chicken. I learned some Emirates vocabulary:
Transportation in-country was interesting. I got to ride a jeepney, a kind of small open minibus; I also rode in semi-enclosed sidecars attached to small motorcycles. I observed others riding pillion on motorcycles that were somehow acting as cabs. With cars, in Manila City it is normal to drive very aggressively; one of our cars hit a motorcycle that tried to cut us off, angry words were exchanged and we moved on. We also took a tourist bus to a ferry to travel between islands. At no point was it normal to wear a seatbelt, at least as a passenger.
Even Manila itself clearly bears hallmarks of the country still developing. One large hotel advertised a reliable power supply. (Indeed, on Mindoro I later experienced a power cut.) In Manila City the streets had small children begging. I was advised not to drink the water, instead we made frequent runs for large containers of water from the store; oddly it seems usual there to drink distilled water. Further out in Manila, from the highway I would sometimes see a stretch of shanty town.
In Manila there are many large indoor shopping malls, some with several floors and able to host a good couple of tens of thousands of shoppers. I recognized many American store chains and, to my surprise, a fair few British ones, each mall even seemed to have a Marks & Spencer. Fast food restaurants had interesting menu differences, not least including white rice; at Taco Bell I enjoyed a shawarma burrito.
Ubiquitous armed security was a surprise to me. For example, the mall entrances included metal detectors and bag checks; even a small bookshop I used had a uniformed guard at the entrance. Outside the malls or bank branches one would often see larger weapons borne, I guessed they were some kind of shotgun. On approaching the entrance to a hotel lobby I was checked by a sniffer dog.
The malls in Manila offered a pleasing range of food. While I enjoyed some traditional Filipino cuisine, much of it tends away from my tastes. They like to put bits of shrimp or pork in everything, use random non-lean bits of meat (I got the impression that much of the butchery was semi-random) and offal, and make everything sweet or salty. Some sweet things, ranging from pastries to mango milkshakes, are commonly topped with grated cheese. Personally I most enjoyed eating at Japanese, Korean, Singaporean establishments, etc., including having fresh sushi and sashimi at a buffet. I also much enjoyed the moreish cheese tarts from Kumori, a Japanese bakery. More locally, I liked the purple yam ice cream but preferred the avocado ice cream.
Out in Mindoro we more commonly bought ingredients from local markets. It was interesting to see differences: for instance, bananas were shorter and mangoes were longer than I am used to and the sweet potatoes were not at all like the usual American ones I know. There was a local variety of tiny lime whose juice was good for mixing with chili and soy sauce as a dip. In the late afternoon some of the food vendors lit roadside barbecues from which they sold grilled meats.
Our Airbnb in Mindoro had only a portable gas stove with a wok which served excellently for various dishes, including stir-fries with rice and noodles. I enjoyed eating the local bangus fish, I got used to fish still having their heads attached; I discovered that when one fries them their eyeballs explode. I also found that I like chayote to be among the vegetables. Hot running water seems rare, all my dishwashing was with cold water.
At first in Manila City I got to visit the National Museum and the nearby Anthropology Museum but was quickly tired. At the end in Taguig City I got to see the American Cemetery which reminded me of its Cambridgeshire analog. It was very well-done and I noted how many Filipinos joined the Americans on the rolls of honor. My host's grandfather was one of those who served with the Americans in World War Ⅱ.
Out of the city was interesting, I got used to seeing coconut and palm trees; I saw banana plants and water buffalo. Our site in Mindoro was more rural. Especially, many feral dogs and some feral cats roamed the streets; I got used to walking by them, sharing the beach with them, having them watch me eat at open-air cafes, etc. Occasionally a couple of chickens or a scrawny cow also roamed about. While we were staying there, shortly before 5am a 3.4M earthquake struck, its epicenter just a few miles away so that woke me up well. We were some way from Taal, the nearest volcano is Panay across the water up in Batangas.
As well as the feral dogs, the beach area featured wandering masseurs and hawkers of cheap tourist tat, those vendors would even interrupt one's meal. There were a fair few men dressed as women; it wasn't always clear if the Western men with them had realized. After dark I enjoyed sitting on the beach and hearing the music from the bars, including various karaoke, though it was all best from a distance. It was peculiar on one evening walk to the beach to find Orion directly overhead, that is certainly new to me.
A pleasing aspect of the beach was the water. Although they live in an island nation it does not seem that most Filipinos swim confidently. Far out from the beach are jet skis, parasailing, etc. This left me quite a large zone out of one's typical depth that, except for the occasional canoe or the like, was largely mine alone in which to swim.
On an intimate note, another pleasing discovery was the bathroom: in each of our Airbnb's there was a
This was my first trip to Asia and to a developing country, albeit a newly industrialized one. Accommodation was in various AirBnb's. Manila seems dominated by high-rise condominiums. My stays started and ended in Metro Manila, partly to be near the airport: first in Manila City, up on the 33rd floor with a view of the US Embassy and Manila Bay; last in Taguig City, up on the 22nd floor and near the British Embassy which is tucked behind the Korean one. Of course, the high-rises elide some floor numbers for reasons of bad luck. In between those stays I passed through Batangas and stayed on Oriental Mindoro near a beach looking out onto the Verde Island Passage, probably my favorite part of the trip.
I was flown on Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER's on an itinerary with an agreeable midpoint layover in Dubai. On those flights my favorite meal by far was the chicken shahjahani and I also enjoyed the mughlai chicken. I learned some Emirates vocabulary:
hatracksare the overhead lockers for carry-on baggage and the exciting-sounding
remote boardingis no more than a long bus ride across the airport to the aircraft. It is interesting to meet other travelers on flights: for some years I lived in Manchester, England, and now live within an hour of Edinburgh; inbound to Manila I sat next to a Filipino guy who lives in Manchester and went to the Edinburgh Fringe.
Transportation in-country was interesting. I got to ride a jeepney, a kind of small open minibus; I also rode in semi-enclosed sidecars attached to small motorcycles. I observed others riding pillion on motorcycles that were somehow acting as cabs. With cars, in Manila City it is normal to drive very aggressively; one of our cars hit a motorcycle that tried to cut us off, angry words were exchanged and we moved on. We also took a tourist bus to a ferry to travel between islands. At no point was it normal to wear a seatbelt, at least as a passenger.
Even Manila itself clearly bears hallmarks of the country still developing. One large hotel advertised a reliable power supply. (Indeed, on Mindoro I later experienced a power cut.) In Manila City the streets had small children begging. I was advised not to drink the water, instead we made frequent runs for large containers of water from the store; oddly it seems usual there to drink distilled water. Further out in Manila, from the highway I would sometimes see a stretch of shanty town.
In Manila there are many large indoor shopping malls, some with several floors and able to host a good couple of tens of thousands of shoppers. I recognized many American store chains and, to my surprise, a fair few British ones, each mall even seemed to have a Marks & Spencer. Fast food restaurants had interesting menu differences, not least including white rice; at Taco Bell I enjoyed a shawarma burrito.
Ubiquitous armed security was a surprise to me. For example, the mall entrances included metal detectors and bag checks; even a small bookshop I used had a uniformed guard at the entrance. Outside the malls or bank branches one would often see larger weapons borne, I guessed they were some kind of shotgun. On approaching the entrance to a hotel lobby I was checked by a sniffer dog.
The malls in Manila offered a pleasing range of food. While I enjoyed some traditional Filipino cuisine, much of it tends away from my tastes. They like to put bits of shrimp or pork in everything, use random non-lean bits of meat (I got the impression that much of the butchery was semi-random) and offal, and make everything sweet or salty. Some sweet things, ranging from pastries to mango milkshakes, are commonly topped with grated cheese. Personally I most enjoyed eating at Japanese, Korean, Singaporean establishments, etc., including having fresh sushi and sashimi at a buffet. I also much enjoyed the moreish cheese tarts from Kumori, a Japanese bakery. More locally, I liked the purple yam ice cream but preferred the avocado ice cream.
Out in Mindoro we more commonly bought ingredients from local markets. It was interesting to see differences: for instance, bananas were shorter and mangoes were longer than I am used to and the sweet potatoes were not at all like the usual American ones I know. There was a local variety of tiny lime whose juice was good for mixing with chili and soy sauce as a dip. In the late afternoon some of the food vendors lit roadside barbecues from which they sold grilled meats.
Our Airbnb in Mindoro had only a portable gas stove with a wok which served excellently for various dishes, including stir-fries with rice and noodles. I enjoyed eating the local bangus fish, I got used to fish still having their heads attached; I discovered that when one fries them their eyeballs explode. I also found that I like chayote to be among the vegetables. Hot running water seems rare, all my dishwashing was with cold water.
At first in Manila City I got to visit the National Museum and the nearby Anthropology Museum but was quickly tired. At the end in Taguig City I got to see the American Cemetery which reminded me of its Cambridgeshire analog. It was very well-done and I noted how many Filipinos joined the Americans on the rolls of honor. My host's grandfather was one of those who served with the Americans in World War Ⅱ.
Out of the city was interesting, I got used to seeing coconut and palm trees; I saw banana plants and water buffalo. Our site in Mindoro was more rural. Especially, many feral dogs and some feral cats roamed the streets; I got used to walking by them, sharing the beach with them, having them watch me eat at open-air cafes, etc. Occasionally a couple of chickens or a scrawny cow also roamed about. While we were staying there, shortly before 5am a 3.4M earthquake struck, its epicenter just a few miles away so that woke me up well. We were some way from Taal, the nearest volcano is Panay across the water up in Batangas.
As well as the feral dogs, the beach area featured wandering masseurs and hawkers of cheap tourist tat, those vendors would even interrupt one's meal. There were a fair few men dressed as women; it wasn't always clear if the Western men with them had realized. After dark I enjoyed sitting on the beach and hearing the music from the bars, including various karaoke, though it was all best from a distance. It was peculiar on one evening walk to the beach to find Orion directly overhead, that is certainly new to me.
A pleasing aspect of the beach was the water. Although they live in an island nation it does not seem that most Filipinos swim confidently. Far out from the beach are jet skis, parasailing, etc. This left me quite a large zone out of one's typical depth that, except for the occasional canoe or the like, was largely mine alone in which to swim.
On an intimate note, another pleasing discovery was the bathroom: in each of our Airbnb's there was a
bidet, a small shower hose with the toilet. As if it weren't bad enough to be returning from the tropics to the Scottish winter, it was with further regret that I returned to the West and its toilet paper.
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Date: 2020-02-24 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-02-26 08:51 am (UTC)